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Jim_Iain – Edge Live Post – B2B – Greek Islands and West Bound TransAtlantic


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We were very happy impressed with the service and food on Delta.  
 

The dinner service began around 2 hours after takeoff. 
 

first was the drink service. 

 

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Appetizer Tray -  included a delicious soup, a Cesar salad, antipasto and rolls. 
 

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Main course we both pre-ordered the Chicken Parmigiana.   It was nicely prepared and was tender and juicy.  
 

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Finally they had a desert cart.  I chose an Ice Cream Sunday while Iain had a cheese platter and port.  
 

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If you still haven’t planned anything for Naples may  I suggest Underground Naples. 
 

It’s a volunteer run underground museum which dates back to Roman times but comes alive during WW2 when it was used as giant air raid shelters. Best €10 we spent. A 15 minute walk from the ship along a very non descript side street - very Naples.

 

Debbie

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On ‎10‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 7:36 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Wow -  thanks for all that have pulled up a seat.   

 

First up is the Itinerary for the Amalfi Coast & Greek Isles Cruise.   I will post details of the TransAtlantic after the first cruise. 

 

 

 

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We are really looking forward to this cruise.   The only ports we have previously visited are Civitavecchia (Rome), Piraeus (Athens) and Katakolon (Olympia).

 

Hi Jim,

I love to follow along your cruises again…. 🙂

And nice itinerary...I especially loved Catania ( we did a Food & Walking tour through Catania with a local which was great) and Naples (which wasn't really Naples for us, but the Amalfi coast and Pompeji, both of them I highly recommend). In any case, enjoy Eastern Europe in October. It is still quite mild right now so you should have a wonderful time.

 

Regards from Germany

Christine

 

PS. When you are back on the American continent we will be starting our b2b cruise from Puerto Rico.

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9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We were very happy impressed with the service and food on Delta.  

 

I think Delta does an excellent job on food in first class to Europe.  I actually had the best tomato bisque I've ever had in my life on a flight to London.  Also love those individual pod seats by the windows!

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Wow Jim...that first class service would put United to shame.  I’m impressed!   We are stuck with United as we fly out of EWR and while there are many non stop European options, their service leaves a lot to be desired...

 

flying their “new” premium plus economy on 10/10 to LHR and just hoping for a more comfortable seat 😊

 

cant wait until you tell us you have arrived for the cruise and have all of your luggage 😊 

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On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 3:07 PM, Alushar said:

Following along again Jim can't wait to read your adventures and sate my desire to try a TA which has yet again been scuppered for next year by booking the Ireland/Iceland cruise

Welcome Alushar.    Ireland and Iceland would be a really fun cruise.   I'm sure you will enjoy a TA.   We have done lots of them and they remain our favorite cruises. 

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On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 5:51 PM, NCHPcruiser said:

Safe travels!  Looking forward to your post over the next several weeks!  

 

Thanks.    Incredible that it is finally almost the begin of the cruise.

 

 

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 6:29 PM, dani negreanu said:

Hi Jim,

Following for the 1st time.

Enjoying it very much. I'll go "reverse engineering" and read your other blogs.

Have a smashing cruise and safe travels to you both😁

 

I will go back and pull up some of my last blogs.  

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 6:33 PM, h20cruzer said:

Hope your flight is a good one, so jealous in a good way. I leave for the Equinox on Wed Oct 25, I will still be following your trip though and your opinions on the Edge.

Norma

 

Norma -  glad to see you along.    Have fun on Equinos.

 

 

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 6:35 PM, awhfy said:

We did, top floor, oceanfront room for our 50th anniversary. Much preferred the Vancouver to Hawaii with the five sea days up front 

 

 

Happy 50th.   That is such a milestone.    I also usually prefer a Westbound.   

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 6:39 PM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Safe travels!!

 

Thanks  much.

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 6:40 PM, silkismom said:

Congrats, I prefer west bound too. We're doing FLL-LIS on Silversea in Ma

 

Another Westbound Fan. 

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 6:59 PM, mike x ftc said:

I always enjoy your superb reviews, very much looking forward to hearing your opinions on Edge. Lovely itinerary, have a great time!

 

I'm getting more excited by the day.    Seems impossible that we board tomorrow.

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 7:46 PM, ecslady said:

 

Safe Travels, but I'm guessing you meant today, Friday, October 18 ???

Yes... I did mean the 18th -   I'm being a real airhead.

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On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 9:02 PM, wv4891 said:

Just discovered your thread.  We did this B2B on Reflection in 2016, absolutely loved the Greek Isles, except for Santorini.  Very crowded and a very long wait (1 - 1 1/2 hours) to take the cable car down to the tenders. Enjoy your flight to CDG.  Will be following along.  Safe Travels.

 

Thanks much.    I'll have to remember that about Santorini.   Was there an alternative to the cable car?   I really haven't researched it at all.   

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On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 8:35 PM, lola2013 said:

I need to start playing the lottery!!!

Enjoy your flight.

 

We used mileage this year for our business class trip.   Well worth it.    I mostly fly United and have to say have been VERY IMPRESSED with Delta. 

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On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 9:10 PM, bluwes said:

Looking forward to your review as always. We got off the Edge a couple of weeks ago. It was an interesting cruise as we missed Katakolon and Nafplion as Captain Kate substituted Rhodes and Chania so we could stay in that part of the Aegean allowing us to get to Mykonos and Santorini where winds had prevented us from getting to earlier in the cruise.

It was a great cruise though.

Sorry to hear that you missed the ports.  We have missed ports before and most of the time enjoyed the substitutions.    We were really disappointed to hear that Captain Kate has gone on vacation before we got a chance to sail with her.   I've heard such good things about her. 

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On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 11:11 PM, bunnyette said:

I always read your reviews...ever since we shared the roll call excursion in Ecuador 😁.  And of course you write excellent reviews.

 

I really enjoyed that cruise with you.     Ecuador was amazing but not as good as the friendships from CC.

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 11:14 PM, hulamoon said:

Nice first class Jim! See you on the TA!

 

Actually except for the short hop to LA in First the remainder of the flights were in  Business Class.  Could not have been better.    The service was exceptional.  

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 11:31 PM, gfkcruiser said:

We did the Greek Islands on our first Celebrity and European Cruise in 2008 for our 30th Anny.  Lucked into a great cruise as did not know what I was doing.  

 

Have done 6 more Mediterrean cruises along with 3 TA's.  Just returned from a Baltic's Cruise on Royal Caribbean.

 

Have been to Malta a few times and did a tour similar to yours but also toured Mdina (had been there on a previous cruise) when we could not do a BLue Grotto boat tour due weather issues.  If you have time, have the tour drop you in Valletta.  It is a great pedestrian city with lots of restaurants and an easy down hill walk to the ship.

 

Santorini was beautiful - took city bus to Oia - a white knuckle trip.  We were there in November so not so many tourists.

 

Look forward to your blog.

 

Gail

 

Thanks for the pointers Gail.    Hope we are rewarded with good weather.   So far looking good.   Rome is a bit overcast this morning but pleasant out.   

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 11:42 PM, jimbri said:

Looks like a great itinerary.  Looking forward to your review.

 

Welcome along

 

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 11:45 PM, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Will be following along and hope you enjoy EDGE as much as we did. We got off 10/11 from a wonderful Greek Isles cruise. 

 

Thanks and I hope you had a wonderful Greek Isles cruise.   We have not spent much time in Greece. 

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On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 5:54 AM, Von & John said:

Thanks Jim.  You & Iain look like you’re settling in for your flight!    We are in Copenhagen, starting our NCL Getaway TA tomorrow.   Following along - will most likely binge read the majority, when we get home in 3 weeks.  Wishing you both 2 amazing cruises!

 

We did have a nice flight but had a long layover in Paris of 4 hours.   Time flew by and were ready for a nice sleep last night.   

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23 hours ago, Groovybusybee said:

If you still haven’t planned anything for Naples may  I suggest Underground Naples. 
 

It’s a volunteer run underground museum which dates back to Roman times but comes alive during WW2 when it was used as giant air raid shelters. Best €10 we spent. A 15 minute walk from the ship along a very non descript side street - very Naples.

 

Debbie

 

Debbie -  Thanks for the recommendation.   It may just be what we do.   Iain is wanting to go to Capri so will see what happens.

 

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22 hours ago, Chrissi3010 said:

Hi Jim,

I love to follow along your cruises again…. 🙂

And nice itinerary...I especially loved Catania ( we did a Food & Walking tour through Catania with a local which was great) and Naples (which wasn't really Naples for us, but the Amalfi coast and Pompeji, both of them I highly recommend). In any case, enjoy Eastern Europe in October. It is still quite mild right now so you should have a wonderful time.

 

Regards from Germany

Christine

 

PS. When you are back on the American continent we will be starting our b2b cruise from Puerto Rico.

Christine -

I'm jotted down notes of your recommendations.     Enjoying the nice weather.   We are taking the free hotel shuttle into Rome this afternoon.   While we have been many times we never get tired of Rome.  So much to see and do.

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8 hours ago, maggieq said:

Wow Jim...that first class service would put United to shame.  I’m impressed!   We are stuck with United as we fly out of EWR and while there are many non stop European options, their service leaves a lot to be desired...

 

flying their “new” premium plus economy on 10/10 to LHR and just hoping for a more comfortable seat 😊

 

cant wait until you tell us you have arrived for the cruise and have all of your luggage 😊 

 

Maggie -   I may have mentioned we are big on United.   I'm a 2 million mile flyer so get good perks with them.   The Premium Plus Economy is a decent service and I am sure you will enjoy it.   The Delta One (which is actually Business Class) is very nicely done and loved their new suites.   They even have a door for quiet and privacy.

 

Good news is we arrive safe and sound and our luggage was almost the first off the plane.    I was getting a little worried.   Delta sends you alerts when your luggage is loaded on the airplane and while Iain got a confirmation out of LA I did not.   I kept trying to track it with no information on my bag.    The good news is that just as we were boarding our AF flight from Paris to Rome I got notification on both bags and sure enough the were on the flight. 

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airhead alert.  - out of sequence.  I wrote this on plane but forgot to posh send button. 
 

After dinner I watched a couple tv shows and then off to sleep.    I got 4-5 hours and awoke over the tip of Greenland.  Took a look out the window I was rewarded with a view of the Northern Lights.  
 

They were incredible but were gone in less that 5 minutes.  
 

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This is my suite on the plane with door closed. 
 

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We spent 4 hours I the Air France Lounge. Iain slipped dow to the smoking lounge a couple times.  
 

AF has a nice lounge but was packed.   We had lunch in the lounge. 
 

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Thought it was interesting to see Civitaecchia from the air on arrival into FCO

 

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Sunday - October 20

 

Wow.   I'm finally getting caught up. 

 

We arrived FCO at about 4:30 PM and make our 10 minute walk through the walkway to the Hilton Rome Airport.   It was a bit crowded checking in as an Air Canada flight had been cancelled and they were putting up about 200 guests at the hotel.   Luckily they pulled me out of line and gave us an express checkin. 

 

We are staying on the Executive floor with a King Bed.   Nicely laid out and everything we could need is available. 
 

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We really weren’t hungry so had drinks and more than enough to eat in the lounge. 

 

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Hi Jim, looking forward to another of your reviews. Apologies for being off topic, but did you ever book the Azamara cruise to Africa? I recall that you mentioned it in a previous thread? Celebrity offerings in that part of the world are somewhat limited. Txs.

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14 minutes ago, Redking said:

Hi Jim, looking forward to another of your reviews. Apologies for being off topic, but did you ever book the Azamara cruise to Africa? I recall that you mentioned it in a previous thread? Celebrity offerings in that part of the world are somewhat limited. Txs.

 

We have looked at Azamara but have not yet booked one.   We are wanting to go to Africa so may be in the cards.   To my knowledge the only thing that Celebrity occasionally offers is a stop in Marrakesh.   We would love to spend sometime in Southern Africa and then take a side Safari trip.   We have some friends from Sydney  that did a Safari and loved it. 

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1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks much.    I'll have to remember that about Santorini.   Was there an alternative to the cable car?   I really haven't researched it at all.   

 

The only alternatives are donkeys (which I think translates to “cruelty to animals” or by foot). Therefore, you’ll need to factor in the long wait to the cable car (depends how many ships “in town” and the length of the stay in port).

We took a tour right on the pier with a speed boat to Oia, then a bus up to Oia, spent some time there, then bus to Fira — all included in the ticket.

 

For Naples — I’m not a fan of ship tours, but Capri I’ll do because the sea conditions can change, and safer to be under the “responsibility” of X... I’ll even prefer Ischia through a ship tour, less visited, but amazing.

 

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We attempted to hold of going to sleep until 9:00 PM last night but failed.   After a couple drinks in the Lounge we went back to our room and by 8:30 we were sound asleep.   I awoke a couple times 3:30, 5:30, 6:15 then to my surprise Iain woke me at 9:00. 

 

According to my Fitbit I got 10 hours 40 minutes sleep.   Definitely needed some coffee to get my motor running.

 

Our room comes with free breakfast.    The hotel is very civilized and serves breakfast between 5:30 - 11:00 on weekends.   They had a beautiful spread with anything you can imagine to eat.  

 

We are going to grab a free shuttle into Rome at noon today (about an hour from now).  The weather seems to be cooperating temperatures forecast between 65-75 F (18-24 C).  We have no plans and are planning on just winging it. 

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7 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

The only alternatives are donkeys (which I think translates to “cruelty to animals” or by foot). Therefore, you’ll need to factor in the long wait to the cable car (depends how many ships “in town” and the length of the stay in port).

We took a tour right on the pier with a speed boat to Oia, then a bus up to Oia, spent some time there, then bus to Fira — all included in the ticket.

 

For Naples — I’m not a fan of ship tours, but Capri I’ll do because the sea conditions can change, and safer to be under the “responsibility” of X... I’ll even prefer Ischia through a ship tour, less visited, but amazing.

 

 

Thanks.   You make a really good point about Capri.  May be our best plan to do Capri by Celebrity. 

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